Jakub Vrana

Friday morning the Capitals announced that forward Jakub Vrana had been recalled from AHL Hershey, one day after sending Chandler Stephenson back down to the AHL. This is Vrana’s second call up to the NHL. His first call up came in late November. He made his NHL debut on December 1st and scored his first NHL goal on December 9th.

Vrana also recorded two assists during his first stint with Washington. So far this season, Vrana has recorded 24 points in 30 games with the Hershey Bears, good for fourth on the team.

The call-up was most likely done to give the Caps more depth, as they will play five games in the next 8 days. That includes a back-to-back this weekend against Montreal and Los Angeles.

The Hershey Bears play the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins tonight at GIANT Center and they are having a fantastic giveaway. The Bears will be giving out pint glasses featuring Jakub Vrana and advertising Labatt Blue to the first 3,000 fans in attendance.

After blanking the Bolts and celebrating TJ Oshie’s Dirty 30 Friday night, the Capitals dispersed across the country to celebrate the NHL’s three-day holiday break. Here’s what your favorite past, current, and future Caps were up to for Christmas.

“It was good for me,” Sanford said of his time in Hershey, which was his first experience in the AHL after signing with Washington out of college. “I thought I went in with a good mindset. I was going to work as hard as I could and not be pissed off about anything. It turned out well for me.”(more…)

Tuesday night in Brooklyn, Vrana authored his first NHL multipoint game of his career. 2:09 into the second period, Vrana tallied his first NHL assist, receiving a secondary apple on Brett Connolly’s first period goal.

Friday night, Jakub Vrana scored his first NHL goal after a beautiful setup by Evgeny Kuznetsov. In years past, Alex Ovechkin has pied the rookies during their postgame interviews to both celebrate and keep them humble.